Cleveland Museum of Art

Brocaded Velvet Panel with Italianate Pattern

Date

1575–1625

Medium

Silk: velvet, brocaded; gilt-metal thread and cotton

Culture

Turkey, Istanbul or Bursa

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Rarely are four fabric widths preserved together from any culture. This gilt-metal thread pattern combines Turkish and Italian features: the large ogival (curved) lattice clasped by crowns and the velvet structure are Turkish, and the two so-called artichoke designs are enlarged adaptations of Italian motifs. A symbol of wealth and power, this velvet panel was woven during the artistic height of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1500s. It may have covered a divan (sofa) or possibly enhanced a wall during cold winters in the imperial Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

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